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Albar Tessier, a blind teacher from France, recently arrived in Bolivia
to prepare for a grueling challenge – walking 140 kilometers across
Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest sand desert, in just seven days.
Tessier, who teaches blind children in his home country, set this
personal challenge for himself before losing his vision completely, and
has reportedly been training for it for the past couple of years. He
wants to show the world that people with disabilities are also capable
of performing amazing feats, and to this end he will be travelling
alone, guided only by audio GPS, and with an emergency team maintaining
a safe distance.
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Albar Tessier’s epic walk across Salar de Uyuni is set to begin today,
July 17th and last seven days, until July 23rd. The Frenchman hopes to
cover a distance of 20 kilometers per day, a challenging feat even for
people without disabilities, considering the special conditions of this
place. Despite being almost completely flat, Salar de Uyuni is located
at about 3,650 meters above sea level, with temperatures fluctuating
between -3 and 20 degrees Celsius.
To make his journey even more challenging, the blind teacher chose the
longest route across the white deserts, setting off from the village of
Llica and walking 140 kilometers to the village of Colchani. He will be
dragging a sled packed with water, sleeping bags and supplies, and will
be followed from a distance by his doctor and an emergency team, should
something go wrong.
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Tessier has asked his team to remain a safe distance behind him and not
offer any support unless he asks them to, via satellite radio. To help
him find his way around, the Frenchman will wear an audio GPS device.
Salar de Uyuni covers an area of 10,582 square kilometers and contains
between 50% and 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. It is also one of
Bolivia’s most important tourist attractions. |